Europcar, the UK's leading vehicle hire company, is making car and van hire both more accessible and more affordable to keep businesses moving during the economic downturn, as SMEs focus on reducing their long term financial commitments and cutting costs.

Marketing Director of car hire firm Europcar, Catriona Lougher said: "With the future looking so uncertain, pay as you go car and van hire makes a lot of sense enabling businesses to respond quickly to opportunities without being tied into longer term contracts. We have therefore created tailored solutions suitable for occasional to more frequent users of vehicle hire. Crucially we have removed potential barriers such as credit checks and improved access to vehicles with free delivery and collection for less frequent customers to make car and van hire much more convenient."

Small businesses needing a car or van infrequently but requiring flexible rates can now book business car hire or van hire online, via phone or from any of Europcar's branches using a company credit card and have the vehicle delivered for free within a 10 mile radius. Customers can also pre-pay for their car or van hire, which guarantees a lower rate than paying on arrival. Businesses can also opt to take the vehicle hire on their own insurance or use Europcar's Options+ excess waivers which include additional drivers and SatNav as part of a menu of packages, allowing them to tailor the hire to their needs.

For SMEs that may need vehicles on a more regular basis but want flexible rates, Europcar now offers Business Advantage bookable via Europcar's 200 plus locations across the UK. This offers a discount of 15% off standard rates every time they book a car, van or prestige vehicle, plus the convenience of a free additional driver.

Businesses that require vehicles frequently but want the certainties of fixed rates are offered a Business Account with a special rate that is tailored to their needs for bookings made via Europcar's contact centre. This means the business can budget for vehicle hire costs throughout the year and take advantage of up to 30 day credit terms, monthly invoicing, option of credit card or credit account payment, delivery available to home or business, more flexibility with out-of-hours drop off, unlimited additional drivers, reduced rates for long-term/mini lease and 24-hour RAC breakdown cover.

Catriona Lougher concluded: "The key point is that through these tailored solutions, business have access to the UK's biggest car and van hire fleet, supported by the strongest rental network in the UK providing the flexibility and choice of vehicles to suit the job. With cost cutting so high on the Agenda, businesses need to get from A to B cost-effectively and safely. Vehicle hire from Europcar helps them do just that."

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About Europcar:
Europcar is the European leader in passenger car and light utility vehicle rentals. The company serves business and leisure customers throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. Since March 2007 with the acquisition of Vanguard EMEA, its network comprises over 5,300 rental outlets in 160 countries. The Europcar fleet has an average CO2 of 158g/km compared to the average UK car parc* which has 164.9 g/km CO2. Europcar is the first company to win the World Travel Award for "the World's Leading Green Transport Solution Company." Today, over 99% of Europcar's fleet is certified "Euro IV" or above - the most stringent applicable European Union standards today in terms of energy consumption and emissions.